NORTHAMPTON – The jury in the Cara Rintala murder trial heard a dramatic tape Friday of a District Court judge tongue-lashing the defendant and her wife after the two women appeared before him with dueling restraining order applications.

Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge John Payne could be heard yelling at the wives for trying to use the court to arbitrate their domestic difficulties.

“Deal with it!” he shouted at the women. “I’m not going to play games with this!”

Rintala, 47, is charged with murdering her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, by strangling her in their Granby home on March 29, 2010. Prosecutors maintain that Rintala killed Cochrane Rintala, 37, after months of marital strife that included the dueling restraining orders, mutual divorce filings and bitter arguments over money and custody of their adopted daughter. The case was originally tried last March but the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.

In the first trial, the jury did not hear the tape of the district court proceedings, which include Cara Rintala’s statement of helplessness to Payne.

“It’s all I can take,” she says of her marriage. “I’m afraid to be in my house. I’m constantly threatened verbally and bodily.”

Rintala could be heard telling Payne that she is afraid of her wife.

“I want peace in the house,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Granby police officers and a dispatcher testified about other reports of domestic strife in the Rintala household, including several 911 calls. One of those calls, on May 12, 2009, was abandoned before dispatcher Lynn Menard could answer. When Menard called back, the call was disconnected. She called back a second time and was told by a woman who identified herself as “Mrs. Rintala” that their daughter had been playing with the phone. During that brief conversation, Menard heard someone say “Just leave” in the background.

The wives eventually appeared before Payne, each with a request for a restraining order against the other. The judge was unsympathetic. Payne vowed to contact the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families if the bickering continued.

“I’ll tell them I don’t think either of you is stable enough to deal with this child,” he shouted. “If one of you makes an allegation of abuse against the other, you’d better have documentation. I’ll be on the phone to DCF so fast, they’ll be here before you get out the door.”

The prosecution maintains that fear of losing custody of their daughter was one of the factors that led Rintala to strangle her wife at the bottom of the basement stairs in their home, a process that took three to four minutes. Roy Dupuis, who lives at 20 Barton St., next door to the home the women shared at the time, testified that Cara Rintala came to his door with her daughter and dog on the night of the alleged murder, said “Ann’s in the basement” and asked him to call 911.

Police arrived to find Rintala wailing and cradling the paint-covered body of her wife in their basement. Prosecutor Steven Gagne played the videotape of the house for the jury that included gruesome footage of Cochrane Rintala’s body. She could be seen lying on her back with her arms above her head and her eyes open. The video showed paint on her face and blood on her hands.

In the afternoon, the jury took a trip to the former Rintala home to view the crime scene. The trial, estimated to last three weeks, is scheduled to resume with more testimony on Monday.